Globo Hydro Power (GHP) Ghana has joined calls for government, development partners and other stakeholders to increase investments into clean and sustainable energy in the country.
The call was contained in a speech delivered by Martino Kashif, the Chief Executive Officer of GHP Ghana at the just-ended West African Clean Energy and Environment Exhibition and Conferences (WACEE 2015) co-hosted with the Ghana Renewable Energy Fair and organized by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK), Fairtrade and the Ministry of Power.
Mr. Kashif enumerated the 50% or more cost saving benefits and more that the country turns to gain at almost no cost to the country. He also mentioned the huge environmental and other economic advantages that the adoption of the Globo Hydro Power technology brings to Africa.
The conference and exhibition under the theme “Renewable energy technology for sustainable development” saw the gathering of energy experts and stakeholders under one roof to discuss issues relating to financing, new technologies, the role of the private and public sectors in renewables, and clean energy.
Mr Kashif in his speech stated that in view of the huge environmental problems posed by fossil energy, there was the need to “direct more investment and research into clean energy technology to help avert any catastrophic outcomes in the near future.” According to him, Ghana stands to gain immensely if effective clean technologies are deployed to, not only save the environment, but to also reduce significantly the cost of energy consumption.
Opening the three day conference and exhibition, Dr Kwabena Donkor, the Minster of Power revealed that the government had legislated the Renewable Energy Act (2011) Act 832 in an effort to address the current energy supply security challenges and to ensure sustainable development as well as to provide the legal framework for large scale deployment of renewable energy technologies.
He further stated that Ghana was endowed with significant renewable energy resources that needed to be harnessed to complement the growing energy demands of the country. He predicted that renewable energy will constitute a major chunk of the country’s energy mix in the next 10-20 years as government continues to identify reliable and sustainable energy sources.
Mr Patrick Martens, the Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana, praised the significant strides that WACEE had chalked since its inception saying “WACEE had become the leading fair on renewables and waste management in West Africa” .
Faced with an increasingly intractable energy crisis, the Ghana Government has been looking for alternative energy sources to the traditional hydro and thermal energy that the nation has been depending on for some time now. Clean and renewable energy seems the way forward and Globo Hydro Power’s fuel enhancement system which cuts CO2 emissions by up to 45 percent has been welcomed by experts as a useful complement to government’s efforts.
Government also stands to enjoy grants from international development partners when it adopts comprehensive green technologies such as that offered by GHP and the latter has expressed its readiness to work with government to enable it access such facilities.